On February 7, 2008 the MBTA Board of Directors voted on a $190 million contract with Rotem for 75 bi-level cars, first four cars are to be delivered by 2010 while the remaining 71 cars are to be delivered in 2011-2012. Order is for 28 cab-control cars without restrooms and 47 blind-trailer coaches with restrooms.

Guilford Guy wrote:The mock up looks very much like a K car, a little stream lining on the roof, moving the markers down, and adding boxy things above the windows...

Actually, it looks EXACTLY like a K-car only repainted. Is this news site credible? Could they have made the mock up to make their story look better? Is there an official mock-up on the Rotem site?

It's absolutely identical. I don't know why everyone was worried about their not being a trap by the engineers side of the control car. It looks the same as the current K-Cars, so there must be a trap there.

Guilford Guy wrote:The mock up looks very much like a K car, a little stream lining on the roof, moving the markers down, and adding boxy things above the windows...

Actually, it looks EXACTLY like a K-car only repainted. Is this news site credible? Could they have made the mock up to make their story look better? Is there an official mock-up on the Rotem site?

It's absolutely identical. I don't know why everyone was worried about their not being a trap by the engineers side of the control car. It looks the same as the current K-Cars, so there must be a trap there.

Actually, it's not identical. The 2 lights above the door on the front doesn't have a frame around it on the mock up but it does on the real K-car.

I'm pleasantly surprised that they can begin delivering them in as little as two years.

I've been jaded by the need to custom-design just about everything else the T uses to fit esoteric requirements. ("This tunnel has this three foot section built in 1897 with quirk X that means you have to throw out the standard design of Y...")

Arborway wrote:I'm pleasantly surprised that they can begin delivering them in as little as two years.

I've been jaded by the need to custom-design just about everything else the T uses to fit esoteric requirements. ("This tunnel has this three foot section built in 1897 with quirk X that means you have to throw out the standard design of Y...")

Wouldn't it be quicker if more K cars were made? I mean, Kawaski already has the technical specs for the K cars and they have the equipment to make them. Wouldn't it be possible to deliver more cars in half the time that way?

I'm still a bit concerned about Rotem, as they don't have such a great track record in Taiwan. Their passenger cars and locos have vibration problems, and Rotem was actually barred from doing more CR bids in Taiwan.

Imagine the problems if the 70+ new bi-levels come in, then get broken or face mechanical problems... then we'll be out 70+ bi-levels and also out of like 200 million bucks that could have been spent on new K cars by Kawaski. Why try a questionable company when we already know that the K cars have worked for us in the past?

The MBTA needed to do more research than "Okay, we only have to spend $10 million less for questionable cars never mind the fact that we may end up paying more than we would for the K cars in the future to repair or replace defective Rotem cars."

By the looks of this press release Boston's "METRO"is getting by-level subway cars

By Jane Han
Staff Reporter

Hyundai Rotem, the world's third-largest urban train car maker, said Sunday it won a $170 million contract to build 75 bi-level subway cars for the Boston metro, the oldest and one of the largest transit systems in the United States.The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) awarded the contract to Rotem USA, which is Hyunda-Kia Automotive Group's train maker, to replace the city's old commuter rail coaches to new ones by 2012.The fourth-largest subway system in the U.S. serves a population of 2.6 million.Rotem said in a statement that winning the Boston project carries significance because of the city's long railroad history and its competitiveness in the U.S.
market.South Korea's largest rolling stock manufacturer said it won a bid against other international suppliers after a tight competition since last May.The Changwon-based company said the latest accomplishment ¯ which follows earlier deals with transportation authorities in Pennsylvania and Southern California ¯ would help it quickly expand its U.S. presence and accelerate its global business efforts. Rotem said late last month that it aims to win orders worth $1.49 billion overseas this year, up from $640 million last year. The U.S. was among the four key markets the company selected for expansion. Turkey, India and Brazil were others. The train maker said it will eye more lucrative deals in the U.S. once its
Pennsylvania factory is completed by the end of 2008. Rotem started building a plant in Philadelphia last year in compliance with ``Buy America'' laws, which state that roughly 60 percent of car manufacturing and assembly must be done in the U.S.The global train market is estimated at $35 billion. Rotem is the third-largest seller of urban metro passenger cars, after Canada's Bombardier and France's Alstom.

acela 2036 wrote:Anyone know if they will have just power doors on them?

If they are to run on the North Side (as "promised" by GM Grabauskas), then they must have a manual option as each line has low-level platforms. And since only the Old Colony lines have all high-levels, it doesn't make sense to have cars with just power doors.

I don't buy that one bit. Septa's Silverliner IV's do not have long doors, and if the traps are up, the doors stay open. So when going from a low-level station, to a high-level station, the conductor holds the door open, pushes the trap down, and then releases the door and it closes. And these EMU's are 30+ years old.